Adrian Newey: Aston Martin co-owner Lawrence Stroll addresses reports about legendary F1 designer's status as team principal
Sky Sports News understands Aston Martin have shown interest in former Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley, so Adrian Newey can focus on car matters; Wheatley left Audi with immediate effect on Friday and Aston Martin Lawrence Stroll also made a rare public statement shortly after
Friday 20 March 2026 16:10, UK
Aston Martin co-owner Lawrence Stroll has addressed reports Adrian Newey will no longer be team principal.
Sky Sports News understands Aston Martin are interested in hiring former Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley as team principal so Newey can prioritise car development in his role as Managing Technical Partner.
Wheatley left Audi on Friday with immediate effect, with the team citing "personal reasons", while Newey has been Aston Martin team principal since the start of 2026.
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"As Executive Chairman and Controlling Shareholder, I would like to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and an important shareholder," said Aston Martin co-owner Stroll in a rare public statement.
"He is AMR's Managing Technical Partner, and he and I have a true partnership built on a shared vision of success for the company.
"We do things differently here, and while we don't currently adopt the traditional Team Principal role that you see elsewhere - it is by design."
It has been a nightmare start to the season for Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are yet to see the chequered flag at the opening two F1 races. Alonso revealed he was unable to finish the last race in China due to severe vibrations from the Honda engine.
Should Aston Martin hire a new team principal, it would free up F1's most successful designer to focus entirely on car performance matters.
Sky Sports News understands Aston Martin have identified other team principal candidates including Max Verstappen's engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who was approached but decided to remain with Red Bull, while former McLaren boss Andreas Seidl is not in the running for the role.
Wheatley's surprise departure from Audi on Friday will only heighten noise about the former Red Bull sporting director joining Aston Martin. Lawrence Stroll revealed the team have been approached by other F1 personnel to join the Silverstone-based outfit.
"As the most successful engineer in the history of the sport, Adrian's primary focus is on the strategic and technical leadership where he excels," he continued.
"He is supported by a highly skilled Senior Leadership Team to deliver on all aspects of the business, both at the Campus and trackside.
"We are regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in keeping with our policy, we do not comment on rumour and speculation."
What's gone wrong at Aston Martin?
There were huge hopes at Aston Martin coming into this year, with the presence of Newey and with Honda as their new engine supplier.
However, it became clear during pre-season testing when Aston Martin were late to the Barcelona shakedown in January, then completed the least number of laps across the two Bahrain tests, that the team would be on the back foot.
Alonso and Stroll failed to complete a full race simulation and lacked outright speed compared to most of the field, aside from newcomers Cadillac.
Prior to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Newey addressed the media and revealed vibrations caused by the Honda power unit could cause permanent nerve damage to the drivers.
Along with concern for the drivers, Honda executive Koji Watanabe confirmed that Honda are also unable to run the power unit at full capacity due to the vibration issue.
Newey also admitted he was unaware of the inexperience at Honda compared to their championship-winning crew that helped Red Bull's Max Verstappen win the 2021 Drivers' Championship.
"We only really became aware of it kind of November of last year when we - Lawrence [Stroll], Andy Cowell and myself - went to Tokyo to discuss as rumours started to suggest that their original target power they wouldn't achieve for race one," said Newey.
"Out of that came the fact that many of the original workforce had not returned when they restarted."
Stroll did not take part in Qualifying while Alonso was knocked out in Q1, then both drivers were unable to finish the Australian Grand Prix.
It was a similar story one week later in China, where Stroll and Alonso were eliminated in the first part of Sprint Qualifying and Qualifying.
They completed fewer laps than in Australia as Stroll stopped at the first corner after nine laps and Alonso stopped due to the severity of the car's vibrations.
"Way too many vibrations compared to any other session of the weekend. I felt it was the limit," he told Sky Sports F1.
"If we were fighting for something, you would hold your eyes and hands, but I started to lose feeling in my hands. It's not a nice feeling."
Aston Martin's engine supplier Honda have their home event, the Japanese Grand Prix, next weekend, when there will be even more attention on the team's performance.
Formula 1 heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on March 27-29 live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
